OSU-Cascades Will Fill Hole In Ore. Education

The state is closing the giant hole in the middle of its public university system — Central Oregon.

The State Board of Higher Education last week approved a plan allowing Oregon State University-Cascades to expand into a four-year school, fulfilling a goal the region has chased for at least a quarter-century. The first freshman class is scheduled to start in the fall of 2015. Enrollment, currently at about 1,000 students, is expected to double by 2019 and expand to 3,000-to-5,000 students by 2025, said Ed Ray, president of Oregon State.

"I hope in 2025 people will be looking back and saying, 'That guy Ray was lowballing it,'" he said with a laugh. "But we'll see. We gotta do this a step at a time."

Some of those steps include hiring more professors, establishing residence halls and acquiring additional space.